1961 Exposition in Turin, Italy: engineers take command

The paper focuses on the exposition complex of Italia ’61 in Turin constructed for the centenary celebrations of the Unification of Italy in 1961 and hosting several exhibitions and an international exposition on labour. With its technical ultra-modern boldness and daring, the Italia ’61 Exposition aimed to express the new expansionist potential of the Italian economy, while at the same time leaving the city with a legacy of immediately usable infrastructures. The 1961 exposition chose, in the best tradition of universal exhibitions, to focus on the rhetoric of technological progress. Those who interpreted this message came from the professional and cultural traditions of engineering. Turin's post-war architectural culture had virtually nothing to do with the centenary exposition project, being relegated to exhibition design and hang only, the ephemeral elements of those structures. All the submitted projects conformed to the philosophy of the celebrations, which was an exaltation of expressionism in engineering. With a series of thinly disguised pedagogical intents, the exposition aimed to fulfil one of its main goals, making science and technology more accessible to all. This explains the great desire for space and constructions. Thanks to its architecture, the exposition was able to achieve these objectives. The buildings themselves made the exhibition, even more so than in the nineteenth century, literally becoming advertising hoardings.